"The fact that we are tied to the earth does not mean that we cannot grow. On the contrary - it is the "conditio sine qua non" of growth. No noble, well-grown tree has ever given up its dark root, because it grows not only upwards but also downwards" .
It's a thought Carl Gustav Jung which can be used to describe a series of photographs by Mihaela Marija Hintermajer, which were presented at the exhibition "Between" in Gallery F64, and which is the last one this year at the residence of photography in Podgorica.
One of the members of the art council of the gallery and professor of photography, Lazar Pejović, points out that it is an exhibition that "rounds off the upward path of the gallery and its reputation".
As the founder and owner of the gallery, as well as the photographer, said, Dejan Kalezic, Hintermajer was unfortunately prevented from appearing at the exhibition for health reasons.
"But we have an agreement that when she recovers, she will come and do a guided tour with her through the exhibition," he added and said that the public will be informed about this in a timely manner.
For "Vijesti", he explains that one thread that unites each of the author's photos is the atmosphere, that is, the eve.
"That one dusk is very associative - she says that in the text as well. She also associates it with some sunsets, endings... and it's a little melancholic atmosphere. That's how she perceives it," says Kalezić.
Indeed, the Hintermajer photographs, with their play of darkness and light, in some cases become part of the space in which they are located. Through some, it was as if a hand could be extended. It's as if the touch would lead us through a dark, silky, cold veil, which would perhaps convey much better Robert Jordan - as he does in his "Pupil of the World", talking about a mystical and dark passage - and whose descriptions can give in to the feeling that permeates while standing "between". Then, from that other side, we might feel our own mind.
You can also glimpse the atmosphere George de Chirico, whose art contains exactly that melancholy, mystery, long and overpowering shadows and dark arcades... For that painter, exactly the twilight carried a special weight. Dusk, darkness, the play of light and darkness are themes that pervade art.
Twilight is the depth in which the author finds inspiration, confrontation and intense emotions. She does not sink in that depth. She touches her unconscious and reaches for her shadow, which can be connected to the aforementioned Jung's quote from the beginning: because as a tree cannot do without its dark root, so a man cannot do without his hidden subconscious embodied in the shadow.
In her paintings there are "ordinary" scenes, but also grotesque motifs, which in the combination of human and animal anatomy in their play of black and white cause discomfort, which can nevertheless encourage thinking about the struggle between the spiritual and the physical, as well as transience. However, one can also experience that life and victory shine from her photographs. There is also the beauty of peace, but also an inspiring explosion..., because, although it is understood in many ways that life is something that exists thanks to light, which is a symbol of many religions - what if there is no life - and no light - without darkness? It would then be said that the point is to get to know and overcome that shadow, not to fall into it Nietzsche's abyss and become what we as humans are fighting against.
Bonus video:
